Conflicts of Empires : Spain, the Low Countries and the Struggle for World Supremacy, 1585-1713

The period between the late sixteenth and the early eighteenth centuries was one of tremendous, and ultimately decisive, shifts in the balance of political, military and economic power in both Europe and the wider world. Spain's overwhelming dominance in the 1580s seemed unassailable, yet by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 its greatness had been eclipsed, leaving supremacy to Britain, France and, in the commercial sphere, the Dutch. In these essays (five of which are previously unpublished) Jonathan Israel argues that Spain's efforts to maintain her hegemony continued to be centred on the Low Countries. One should not readily assume that Spain's order of priorities was misconceived: at times she appeared to be close to succeeding. Both France and Britain were deeply riven by religious, political and social divisions during a large part of the seventeenth century. While it is true that after Spain's final defeat, at the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), French preponderance within, and British supremacy outside, Europe seemed increasingly probable, the overthrow of James II in 1688 might well have been the prelude to political chaos and civil war in Britain. While long-term economic and social trends played a large part in shaping the outcome of events, it is also true that the impact of personalities and short-term contingencies could often be decisive. Contents Illustrations Plates between pages 100 and 101 Acknowledgements Foreword Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Court of Albert and Isabella, 1598-1621 2 Garrisons and Empire: Spain’s Strongholds in North-West Germany, 1589-1659 3 A Spanish Project to Defeat the Dutch without Fighting: The Rhine-Maas Canal, 1624-9 4 Olivares, the Cardinairinfante and Spain's Strategy in the Low Countries: The Road to Rocroi, 1635-43 5 Art and Diplomacy: Gerard Ter Borch and the Munster Peace Negotiations, 1646-8 6 Spain and Europe from the Peace of Munster to the Peace of the Pyrenees, 1648-59 7 Dutch Sephardi Jewry, Millenarian Politics and the Struggle for Brazil, 1650-54 Appendix: Translations of the Passages in Latin and Portuguese Cited in the Text 8 The Diplomatic Career of Jeronimo Nunes da Costa: An Episode in Dutch-Portuguese Relations of the Seventeenth Century 9 Lopo Ramirez (David Curiel) and the Attempt to Establish a Sephardi Community in Antwerp in 1653-1654 10 The Jews of Spanish Oran and their Expulsion in 1669 11 Toleration in Seventeenth-Century Dutch and English Thought 12 William III and Toleration 13 England's Mercantilist Response to Dutch World Trade Primacy, 1647-74 14 The Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the English Revolution of 1688 15 England, the Dutch and the Struggle for Mastery of World Trade in the Age of the Glorious Revolution, 1682-1702 16 Propaganda in the Making of the Glorious Revolution 17 Gregorio Lett (1631-1701) and the Dutch Sephardi Élite at the Close of the Seventeenth Century 18 The Dutch Republic and its Jews during the Conflict over the Spanish Succession, 1699-1715 Index The period between the late 16th and the early 18th centuries was one of tremendous, and ultimately decisive, shifts in the balance of political, military and economic power in both Europe and the wider world. In these essays Jonathan Israel argues that Spain's efforts to maintain her hegemony continued, for a number of reasons, to be centred on the Low Countries. This had as much to do with her attempts to check the rise of France and manipulate the affairs of Germany as it had with her long war with the Dutch, Spain's overwhelming dominance in the 1580s seemed unassailable, yet by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 its greatness had been eclipsed, leaving supremacy to Britain, France and, in commercial terms, the Dutch. The period between the late 16th and the early 18th centuries was one of shifts of balance in political, military and economic power in Europe. This volume argues that Spain's efforts to maintain her hegemony continued, for a number of reasons, to be centred on the Low Countries. Jonathan I. Israel. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.